RG 98

Cover blinked slowly and lifted his head. The confusion once evident in his black eyes had already settled, returning him to his usual composure. Now was not the time to space out. Though the rift was closed, Baphomets and the Leviathan were still here. There was no room for distraction until they were dealt with.

“As you said, killing Leviathan isn’t difficult.” Placing the flower he had been holding into his inventory, Cover gripped his sword firmly and brushed past Eun Woojeong. “What’s more important is minimizing the damage.”

Leviathan, being a demon species, carried venom in its bodily fluids and blood. With its massive size, any misstep could result in the destruction of the city and catastrophic damage.

As Eun Woojeong had suggested, it was feasible for four S-class Hunters to defeat Leviathan. However, the process would be anything but straightforward. None of them had faced Leviathan before, nor did they know how to handle it properly.

‘…There’s no other choice.’

Under normal circumstances, Cover might have turned a blind eye. But this was the heart of the city, and just outside Gwanghwamun were countless citizens who hadn’t yet evacuated. Protecting them while dealing with Leviathan left no option but for Cover to take charge.

“Follow me.” Cover ran back to Yeongjegyo Bridge and called out to Kwon Taehyeok and Ryu Seonghyeon, “We need to keep Leviathan from moving elsewhere. Help me hold it here.”

Kwon Taehyeok, who had just finished dealing with Baphomets, turned to Cover with a heavy breath. His cold gaze reflected a hint of curiosity. “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes. First—”

Before Cover could finish explaining, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, followed by a deafening beastly roar.

Rooooaarr!

Leviathan finally began to move, its massive body writhing. It lowered its head, and the seven faces attached to it turned toward Cover and the S-class Hunters nearby.

Meeting Leviathan for the first time, Kwon Taehyeok swallowed nervously and tightened his grip on his weapon. The seven faces on Leviathan’s head were studded with countless eyes—sclera pitch black and irises unnervingly red. The grotesque sight was enough to churn anyone’s stomach.

“Ugh, ahhh!”

“Ugh…!”

As Leviathan lowered its head closer, the other Hunters gasped in terror and collapsed to the ground. Overwhelmed by its intense presence and primal fear, they were too paralyzed to flee. Standing their ground, Kwon Taehyeok, Ryu Seonghyeon, and Eun Woojeong were the only ones resisting. Cover addressed them directly, “Fortunately, it’s focused on us. We need to keep it here and locate its weak spot.”

“Locate its weak spot?” 

“Yes,” Cover replied, pulling out a new outfit from his inventory. It was a pure white robe, familiar even to Kwon Taehyeok—the same one Cha Seohu had once worn. Cover donned it swiftly and continued, “We call it the reverse scale. Among its countless scales, there’s just one that faces the opposite direction. It will also look slightly different. We need to find that scale.”

“And once we find it?”

“Attack it, of course. If we don’t, we’ll have to hack away at its massive body or sever its neck, which will result in far too much bloodshed.”

That was absolutely out of the question. Cover grimaced before turning to Ryu Seonghyeon and Eun Woojeong. “Vicemaster, do whatever it takes to keep Leviathan in place. You too.” Having naturally delegated roles, Cover placed a firm but brief hand on Kwon Taehyeok’s shoulder. “Guildmaster, your job is to find the reverse scale in the meantime.”

Kwon Taehyeok frowned as he observed Cover. His face was obscured by a deeply pulled hat and a mask, adding to his unease.

Leviathan, an S-class demon species, was a rare monster. There was little research on it, and even less on how to deal with it effectively.

How does Cover know all of this?

Crack!

“Now!” Cover’s loud voice snapped Kwon Taehyeok out of his thoughts. He realized Leviathan was suddenly right in front of him and leaped to the side just in time.

Boom! The ground shook violently as Leviathan slammed its massive body down, but golden ropes and silver chains swiftly wrapped around it.

“Pull! Keep it from moving!”

Grabbing one of the chains Eun Woojeong had conjured, Cover held tight with both hands and braced his legs. Leviathan thrashed wildly, its movements restrained by the ropes and chains binding it.

Screeeech!

Leviathan thrashed wildly like a fish out of water, its massive body twisting and writhing. The force of its movements dragged not only Cover but also Ryu Seonghyeon and Eun Woojeong along with it.

“Ugh…!”

The pull was far stronger than anticipated.

Screech! Their feet slid uncontrollably across the ground, and intense pain flared in Cover’s palms as he gripped the chains. Even with his arm muscles taut and trembling, the chains kept slipping from his grasp.

Ryu Seonghyeon and Eun Woojeong wore protective gloves, sparing their hands from harm. Cover, however, was barehanded. His palms couldn’t withstand the brutal friction. The skin peeled away, leaving bloody streaks that dripped steadily onto the ground.

As the three struggled to hold Leviathan in place, Kwon Taehyeok sprinted along its massive form, scanning every scale for any anomaly. Leviathan’s body was covered in countless scales, reminiscent of a serpent. Searching for the one scale that faced the opposite direction—a reverse scale—was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

His urgency grew as he realized time was running out. He scoured the scales but found nothing out of place. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to take a risk and climb directly onto Leviathan’s body when—

A grating, metallic shriek rang out as Leviathan shattered the ropes and chains binding it.

“Argh!”

Thud! Cover, who had been holding on to the last chain, lost his balance and rolled across the ground. Freed at last, Leviathan lunged toward the fallen Cover with its massive jaws wide open.

“Hunter Cover!”

A burst of light erupted from Ryu Seonghyeon’s direction, but Leviathan was faster. Like a bird snatching its prey, it grabbed Cover’s lower body and took to the skies.

“Hah… ugh!”

Cover was dragged upward, half his body trapped in Leviathan’s mouth. As the wind howled furiously around him, he raised his head to see the seven faces on Leviathan’s crown glaring down at him with countless red eyes.

“Damn it! I knew this would happen.”

Cover drew his sword and pointed it downward. With a swift, decisive motion, he plunged the blade deep into Leviathan’s snout, as if planting a cross.

“Good thing I wore this!”

The sharp blade pierced Leviathan’s flesh, unleashing a spray of black blood. The monster roared in agony.

Screeeeeech!

Its jaws parted briefly from the pain, giving Cover the chance to slip free. He barely escaped, knowing that without the protective robe he wore, Leviathan’s teeth would have crushed his torso.

Even after escaping its maw, the danger wasn’t over. Cover clung to the sword embedded in Leviathan’s snout, dangling precariously as the beast thrashed in pain. Looking down, he saw the ground far, far below. Letting go would mean certain death. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought.

He reached out with his free hand and grabbed hold of Leviathan’s rough hide, climbing with painstaking effort. The wind howled furiously, and Leviathan’s violent movements made it nearly impossible to find balance.

“What are you looking at? Stop staring!”

Gritting his teeth, Cover managed to climb to the top of Leviathan’s head. Surrounded by its countless glaring eyes, he raised a middle finger at them before scanning his surroundings.

‘Kwon Taehyeok already checked the midsection.’

If the reverse scale wasn’t on the midsection, that left two possibilities: the tail or the head. If it was on the tail, things would get even more complicated. If it was on the head, luck was on his side.

The wind made it difficult to keep his eyes open. One misstep or moment of carelessness could send him plummeting hundreds of meters. Despite the fear freezing his limbs, Cover pressed on, one step at a time.

Using his sword as a staff, he planted it into Leviathan’s scales for support. Each time he did, black blood spurted out, accompanied by a sizzling sound and a puff of white smoke. The acidic blood burned his boots and calves, but Cover endured, inching forward.

Every second felt like an eternity. In what felt like the longest five minutes of his life, he finally passed the seven faces and reached Leviathan’s neck.

“Ha…!”

Cover’s eyes lit up as he spotted something unusual. He couldn’t suppress a laugh of triumph. Beneath one of Leviathan’s horns, among the sea of black scales, was a single crimson scale facing the opposite direction.

“No wonder no one could find it.”

Cover smirked, recalling Kwon Taehyeok’s earlier frustration. Gripping the horn to steady himself, he gathered his strength. Just as he had done before, he plunged his sword deep into the reverse scale without hesitation.

Rumble!

Leviathan’s entire body convulsed violently.

Gurgle! The sound of bubbling blood echoed as the scales near the sword’s entry point began falling away one by one. And then—

Screeeeeeeech!

A piercing scream echoed, long and sharp, as Leviathan’s rigid body began to tremble violently before plummeting toward the ground.

“Dammit… what the… Huff… insane…”

Cover, gripping the horns tightly against the wind and momentum, glanced downward, assessing the situation.

‘If this keeps up, it’s going to crash into a building.’

Realizing Leviathan’s trajectory was headed straight for the city center, Cover bit his lip and planted his feet firmly. He yanked his sword from the reverse scale and grabbed onto the creature’s two protruding horns instead.

“This… way…!”

He pulled the horns to the left with all his strength, causing the creature’s head to tilt. Slowly, its snake-like body followed the shift in direction.

The wind whipped relentlessly against his face as he tried to gauge their new position. Noticing he had overcorrected to the left, Cover adjusted again, pulling the horns rightward, steering the monstrous Leviathan like a ship’s bow. His efforts weren’t in vain. Leviathan veered off its collision course with the skyscrapers, its massive body weaving unsteadily past them. Finally, it careened through the Gwanghwamun Gate, its strength spent.

Crash!

The creature’s lifeless body slammed into the ground and skidded forward, tearing up the earth. It slid all the way to the front of Yeongjegyo Bridge before coming to a halt.

“Huff… huff…”

Clinging to one of the horns, Cover survived the entire descent. As he realized he was still alive and back on solid ground, his legs gave out, and he collapsed, breathing heavily. He scanned his surroundings. Thankfully, Leviathan’s corpse had landed within Gyeongbokgung Palace, away from civilians.

Still, the situation was far from ideal.

Hunters who had faced the Baphomets lay scattered across the battlefield. Many others had succumbed to the demonic poison. Even during Leviathan’s crash, some Hunters were inevitably caught in its path.

“Sigh…”

“Hunter Cover!”

Ryu Seonghyeon, Kwon Taehyeok, and Eun Woojeong came running toward him from the opposite side. Exhausted, Cover briefly closed his eyes before reopening them to watch their approach.

‘Divine Power is necessary.’

His unique skill—Divine Power—could heal the injured and cure those affected by the demonic poison. It would also purify the blood of the demon species scattered around the area. The chaos wasn’t limited to the Hunters. Police, military, and guild members had risked their lives to protect the citizens. Leaving them in their current state wasn’t an option.

The problem, though…

Cover sighed as he looked at the three S-class Hunters heading toward him.

‘How am I going to slip away unnoticed and return as Cha Seohu?’

[Main Quest: Locate the lab associate hiding somewhere in the event hall (Time remaining: 4 hours 38 minutes]